The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few

 

 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  

 

- Matthew 9:35—10:4 

 

Yesterday we read that two blind men followed Jesus, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."

 

  Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."   This phrase, like sheep having no shepherd, is similar to the language in Mark 6:34, which we read as a description of the crowd of 5,000 which Jesus will feed in the wilderness (see Mark 6:30-44).  Here the words weary and scattered describe the crowd, meaning that they were like those cast aside from the world, exhausted in their struggles.  In a sense, it's a description of those who are figuratively "homeless" -- like sheep having no shepherd, who need His good guidance and love, His compassion.  In yesterday's commentary, we remarked upon Christ's gathering of the outcast, the poor in spirit, the outliers in some sense.  Here the description of these people exemplifies those to whom He has come to extend His care, His church.  His comment,  "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" teaches us that this is indeed how He views these multitudes.

 

 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.   My study Bible comments that disciples and apostles are often used interchangeably for the twelve.  Jesus gave them power to perform miracles, while He performed them by His own power.  It notes that he names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, because many people had more than one name.  Here the names are given in pairs, which suggests who might have traveled together on their "first missionary journey," as St. Mark tells us that they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7).  

 

It's very interesting to note how Jesus fulfills the needs He encounters in the people, as He goes out preaching, teaching and healing.  At this point in His ministry, He's encountering multitudes who are like sheep without a shepherd, weary and scattered.  As commented above, this description gives us a sense of people who are beleaguered by life, in some sense cast off by the society that does not feed them what they need.   They need a true leader, someone to guide them, and clearly that Someone is Jesus, who is our true and good Shepherd (see John 10:1-30).  This description of the multitudes sounds like something that many "multitudes" could relate to today in our world.  Wherever we are, it seems that there are a lot of people feeling like they are in need of a shepherd, who may feel cast off and even without a deep sense of community.  Christ responds in a characteristic way, which is not sad nor diminished in optimism, but rather quite the opposite.  He sees these seemingly lost multitudes as a harvest which is plentiful for His future Church, but that there is simply a need of more laborers to gather them.   These are the people He has come to gather to Himself, to guide as Shepherd.  They are the lost sheep who need Him.  And now is the time not simply to minister to them, but to expand His ministry by extending His power to His disciples who will now become apostles.  After calling the Twelve, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. This is what Christ has come to do, and it is an opportunity for the glory of God and the power of Christ to manifest itself and grow within human beings.  These are the ones He has come for, and this is the way that His Church will be built.  Christ at once gives us many things characteristic of Himself and His work:  if something is sad, or weak, or broken, or in need of healing or care in our sight, it is an opportunity for His work, His power, His energy.  If something is cast off, He can gather it to Himself, and the ones who are scattered He can gather into His community.  And He will do this by extending His power through human beings, the faithful disciples.  This is also, if we look closely, the characteristics of the Cross, for in what appears to us sad or broken or needful, and invites despair, there is God who can work even through all things.  Just as St. Paul was told that God's strength was made perfect in his weakness (1 Corinthians 12:9), so grace works through the things that look "less than" to us, and Christ's greatest power continues to work through the Cross, even defeating death.  Let us look to that grace for all the surprising, uplifting, and beautiful things it can bring into our lives as well.  For we may all be laborers in whatever ways we are called.  

 

 

The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest

Cross stones at the Saint Bartholomew Armenian Monastery near the border with Iran. Until recently, the monastery was inaccessible to visitors as it was inside a Turkish army compound. The monastery was built on the site of martyrdom of Apostle Bartholomew. (Photo by Khatchig Mouradian)

 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

- Matthew 9:35-10:4

In yesterday's reading, we read that two blind men followed Jesus, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons." 

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.   My study bible tells us that Jesus doesn't see people as sinners to be condemned.  Instead He has compassion on them, seeing them as lost sheep to be found and brought home.  It points out that compassion means "suffering with."  It adds, "Like sheep having no shepherd, drawn from the Old Testament (Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Ezekiel 34:5), is an accusation against Jewish leaders who, charged with the duty of shepherds, acted the part of wolves."  I think it's important to note that the phrase "weary and scattered" forms a kind of poetic sound in Greek ("eskylmeni kai errimeni") and is therefore vivid and memorable as a saying.  Also essential to understand is that these words have a powerful potency in their original form.  To be weary here is literally from a word that implies "skinned" and therefore extremely harassed.  The scattered implies deliberate action, akin to "cast away", or cast down.

 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  My study bible notes here:  "The harvest suggests the abundance of those who are ready to accept the message of the Kingdom.  Jesus, Himself the Sower, is also Lord of the harvest.  His disciples are sent not to sow but to reap what He had sown by the prophets.  It is not the number of those who go which is most important, but the power given to those who are sent." That power is revealed in the next verse.

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  My study bible says that "disciples and apostles are interchangeable terms for the Twelve followers of Jesus.  The Greek word for 'disciple' means 'learner.'  The word 'apostle' means 'one officially sent on a mission.'  He gave them power to perform miracles, while He performed miracles by His own power.  Both Matthew and Luke 9:1 add to Mark 6:7 the power of healing diseases.  The names of the Twelve, which are not exactly the same in all the New Testament lists, are arranged in pairs.  This gives an interesting idea of who may have traveled with whom on this, the apostles' 'first missionary journey,' since Mark reports they were sent out two by two."  At the left hand side of my blog, I quote a liturgical prayer from the Armenian church.  By tradition, the pair of apostles who traveled and evangelized Armenia after Pentecost -- and were martyred there -- were Thaddaeus and Bartholomew, thus validating my study bible's point about apostles being sent out "two by two."

It's interesting to think about the apostles being sent out in pairs.  Many have commented on the Jewish tradition of "two witnesses."  Jesus Himself also stated that "where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).  The word martyr, incidentally, comes from the Greek word for witness.  So, being sent out two by two, the apostles were corroborating witnesses, in some sense -- each telling their testimony of the Gospel.  Christ's power is also present, He is also present, and the Spirit is present.  Thus we could infer several witnesses to the testimony of the Gospel, by virtue of the fact that there are "two gathered" to do so.  In some sense, our four Gospels are four testimonies to Christ, four witnesses testifying and telling us of His gospel, His message.  Thus each Gospel has its own character, and Scripture as a whole, as well, is taken as a full body of testimony:  each book giving its own testimony, placing them within a context of an entire body of witnesses.  As Christians, we read the Old Testament Scriptures, as well, as witness to Christ, to the Spirit at work, and testimony about those others who were also "sent," such as the Prophets.  Each Old Testament event testifies to Christ as "type" in the Christian reading of Scriptures.  Thus, from Jesus sending out His apostles two by two, we come upon an entire Body of Christ as witness, where He and the Spirit are present, and all originates in the Father who is also present.  Neither is the unity of these witnesses, each in their individual testimony, inhibited by time.  Rather, as the communion of saints is beyond time, as we celebrate a Eucharistic liturgy praising God together with the angels in heaven, this body of witnesses expands beyond all boundaries we may associate with our every day lives.  Finally, in Matthew's gospel, there is the repeated significance of two:  two blind men, two Gergesene demoniacs, two women healed (one old and one young), into which we may also read the whole world, if you will, both Jew and Gentile.  In each of these ways, two by two, a reading given in pairs extends to include a great cloud of witnesses, an entire Body, with Christ at the center.  Let us remember that in the Body of Christ, each of us may testify in our own way, but we are never alone.  It is good to be in dialogue with one another, to work together, to recognize the testimony of one another.  Let us remember all those witnesses (including the countless martyrs) who have come before us, and will come after us, and how we are all connected with one another, especially through our prayers.  Let us remember that His command to pray for more laborers for the harvest is continual.  The shepherding of the weary and scattered or "cast away" sheep is always His work.

Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd

Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.
 
- Mark 6:30-46

In yesterday's reading, we learned about Herod.  Herod heard of Jesus and the great power expressed in His ministry.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;  for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.  Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist."  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  We remember that in Tuesday's reading, we read that Jesus sent out the Twelve two by two, on their first mission.  My study bible says, "The word apostle (meaning 'one who is sent,' a messenger) is used frequently in the epistles but is rare in the gospels.  It designates an official representative authorized to carry out a specific mission."

And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  A note here reads, "Jesus gives the disciples time to rest a while.  they have just returned from a demanding assignment -- preaching, healing and casting out demons -- and it is time for solitude."   Mark's gospel constantly speaks of Jesus' action of going to and fro on a boat in His ministry, across the Sea of Galilee.  He has been in Gentile territory, and back among the throngs of people who follow His ministry in Jewish territory.   Here, He gathers His disciples and takes them in a boat for rest, to a deserted place.  It's an important note to us, as well, about what God may expect of us, always knowing we need and must have time for rest and reflection and prayer.

But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  Here the people are so intent on following Jesus that they run on foot toward where He has headed in the boat with the disciples.  I think the key phrase of Jesus being moved with compassion tells us so much about His character, and it is a personal characteristic that we will find repeated in the Gospels.  His intention was different, to take His disciples apart by themselves, to talk and to rest and to discuss what they've so recently completed.  But He is moved with compassion; the crowds are "like sheep not having a shepherd."  They are lost and need guidance.  What is most striking here is that the first thing they need, the need He fills first, is their need for teaching.  And so this first thing He feeds them is to "teach them many things."  This is how He responds with compassion.

When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.   My study bible says, "The feeding of the multitudes is both a messianic sign and an image of the Eucharist.  Jesus' sustenance is never exhausted, just as His eucharistic body, multiplied and distributed, is 'ever eaten and never consumed, sanctifying those who partake' (from the Divine Liturgy)."  It also adds here:  "The disciples learn a great lesson here:  whatever they have is enough to feed the people, whether physically or spiritually.  God can multiply our resources so that everyone can be filled.  But we must participate in His grace:  Christ, along with the Father, blesses the loaves, but the disciples distribute them."  This is an image of the Eucharist to come in the Church. 

And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.    The twelve baskets give us one for each apostle:  there is food for the future, for the distribution they will take to the world.  According to cultural custom, only the approximate number of men is given here, but there were also women and children present.  This is an event that includes everyone.

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.  Jesus still finds time for rest and prayer, and time apart.  He goes alone to be with His Father, for His own rest, on the mountain.  Let us not forget His example, and what the Gospels teach us about true rest.  Perhaps the great use of power is coordinated with depth of prayer for a reason, as an expression of how we too must dwell within grace for our lives. 

I'm always intrigued by Jesus' command to the disciples:  "You give them something to eat."  He is challenging them to go further in discipleship, to learn more from Him, and it is also an occasion for grace to be further revealed among them in the feeding of the five thousand.  What I especially seem to struck by today is the power that comes through that feeding.  We've been reviewing notions of power, and contrasted earthly and holy power, in the recent readings.  We've understood Jesus' power to be released through faith, making a connection in us.  So here we have a true expression of community in its fullness, in a foreshadowing of the Eucharist.  Five thousand men and many more women and children make a full community. They have followed Jesus to this place because they are "like sheep not having a shepherd," full of great need, especially for guidance, teaching.  This type of devotion suggests to us a corporate faith, the faith of a multitude that has run after Him.  They eagerly stay until late, without food, for His many teachings.  So again we can read into this expression of manifold grace and its abundance a kind of abundance of faith that makes it possible for His power to be expressed in such a way.  And we learn once again about grace and power, the expression of the energies of God among us.  Jesus challenges the disciples to meet the situation with faith as well, to make do with what is at hand.  While I can't say I've experienced miracles on this scale, I can suggest that there have been many times in my life when I feel that there simply isn't enough, or rather there are too many obstacles in the way for me to achieve something I think God wants me to do.  But a gentle and persistent faith, keeping in mind prayer and God's presence, has opened up ways I didn't see with whatever is truly at hand.  These are not great miracles, like the feeding of the five thousand here, but they are experiences that have taught me repeatedly the lesson involved.  "You give them something to eat" is a great challenge, a prodding, the power of faith invested in something in order to go forward and find a way.  Christ gives us gentle nudges, and trust in His faith takes us forward in ways we can't anticipate.  At the end of John's gospel, Jesus tells Peter, "Feed my lambs."  There will always be something at hand, wherever we start.